Brick By Brick: Consistency‍

Using the brick analogy; imagine if you did not lay each brick the same way as the one previous. The wall would be a mess! It would have more mortar in some places, and less in others.

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Okay, now lets apply this to your fitness.

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Imagine if you were absolutely dialed in one week. Your nutrition was on point. You didnt miss a workout. You took care of each and every rep of each and every exercise. You slept the right amount. Everything was perfect.

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But then….

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The next week, you ate like crap. Missed 3 out of 4 workouts. You were careless with your reps and the weights you used. And you slept terribly. Everything SUCKED.

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Obviously, if I asked you to pick a week for you to experience you would take the first option. HOWEVER, the likelihood of that happening is low. Something inevitably comes up that is going to get in the way of a perfect week. Not always, but mostly.

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So what do you do when something does get in the way of a perfect week? Shut down and mail it in? NOPE.

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You do the best you can. Get in 3 workouts instead of 4. Sleep as much as you can, and make sure to take steps to make that sleep as effective as possible even if it is short. If you ate like crap one day, get back on your plan the next.

A quote my mentor told me has solidified its place in my brain rent free. “Make your C and D days into B days. A days will always exist, but you need to raise your floor.”

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A days (or weeks) would be like the perfect week described above. The other option would be a D or F day. The goal is to turn that sucker into a B or C day.

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Confused by that analogy? Thats because I can’t write good (well). So let me try another example.

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2 months worth of workouts is about 24 (3 workotus per week)

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What option sounds better?

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5 workouts a week for 5 weeks. And then 3 weeks of nothing?

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Or

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3 workouts a week for 8 weeks?

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Small increments of consistent effort is always going to beat short bursts of extreme effort.

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Success is not linear. It is a hilly up and down road with frost heaves all over the dang place. However, if you continue to put in the work at a consistent pace; you’ll notice yourself making noticeable strides to your goals.

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Now for all my nerdy readers.

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Different physiological systems will have different times in which they decay. For example, if you want to improve club head speed (a max velocity movement) you will notice decreases in performance after only a few days or a week when you do not train.

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Studies have also shown that there can be as much as a 5% decrease in VO2max with only 2 weeks of not training.

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This is not to say that rest is a bad thing. 

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BUT, it does tell us that consistency beats binge exercise routines in the long run every time.

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Next week we will tackle Mental Fortitude.

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Yours in strength,

Nate

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